Within the puppet and toy industries there has been a well recognized need for various apparatus and methods to remotely animate and impart life-like qualities and actions to a puppet. In an effort to satisfy this need, a wide variety of devices have been created. The following patents describe many of such devices: Erichsen (U.S. Pat. No. 227,933; issued May 25, 1880); Wobito (U.S. Pat. No. 407,142; issued Jul. 16, 1889); Olson (U.S. Pat. No. 964,803; issued Jul. 19, 1910); Polk (U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,784; issued Aug. 9, 1955); Polk (U.S. Pat. No. 2,714,871; issued Apr. 17, 1956); Wagner (U.S. Pat. No. 3,008,266; issued Nov. 14, 1961); Suzuki (U.S. Pat. No. 3,199,248; issued Aug. 10, 1965); Taylor (U.S. Pat. No. 3,269,054; issued Aug. 30, 1966); and Girsch et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,718,877; issued Jan. 12, 1988).
The inventor believes that the listed patents taken alone or in combination neither anticipate nor render obvious the present invention. These citations do not constitute an admission that such disclosures are relevant or material to the present claims. Rather, these citations relate only to the general field of the disclosure and are cited as constituting the closest art of which the inventor is aware.